Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Saints' most dangerous weapon still absent

Facing the high-powered passing game of the New Orleans Saints will be no small task this weekend for the Buffalo Bills' defense.

There will be no complaints, however, if its most powerful weapon isn't healthy enough to play.

After an injury in Week 6 against the New England Patriots and a bye week to recover, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham is apparently still feeling the effects of the his foot ailment. Graham, the team's leading receiver, did not participate in practice Wednesday.
"Each day we'll just take a peak on how he's progressing and be smart about it," Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday, via The Buffalo News.

An absent Graham would be a big loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans passing game, and it would give a healing Bills secondary one less thing to worry about, particularly in the red zone.

The Saints second-ranked air attack has tallied nearly 2.000 yards so far this season, with Graham accounting for 30 percent of those yards (593) and six touchdowns.

Buffalo has had success against opposing tight ends this season, giving up only two touchdowns thus far. One of those, which came courtesy of Charles Clay last week, was Clay's only catch of the day, a seven-yard reception.

Tight ends are averaging just under 32 yards a game against Buffalo's defense.